In The Waiting Line
by She's Hearing Voices
Summary: Alex goes to Joe's to rethink things over while Addison questions whether or not she should leave Finn's. AlexAddison. Chapter Twelve up.
1. Chapter 1

Never before written an Alex/Addison story, but after predicting their couple ever since he was forced onto the "gynie-squad", I can't help but write about these two. Plus, they're pretty damn hot together.

This is meant to be a one-shot, but I'll continue it if someone can persuade me otherwise :)

**Chapter One**

"Pour me another one." It was a more of a plea than a demand, especially coming from her. Head bowed, she seemed fixated on the many shot glasses sitting in front of her.

He watched her down what seemed to be the sixth shot that night and wondered how drunk she really was. He smiled when he thought about how much she was going to later wish she hadn't taken that last shot. His smile faded however, when he thought about why she was taking that last shot. He hadn't seen her all day instead he was busy running coffee errands for none other than Mark Sloan.

He shook his head, trying to shake off today's tiresome events. His attention was pulled back to her as she repeated it yet again. "Pour me another one Joe." He missed that sultry voice of hers, now however it was somewhat slurred. Nevertheless, he missed it and hearing it now made him realize this now more than ever.

From where he was sitting, he could see Joe sigh heavily and place a hand on hers as he said, "Don't you think you've had enough Addison?" He looked sympathetically at her, and Alex couldn't blame him, Addison was obviously trying to drown her sorrows. The only thing she was going to drown was herself, or want to, the next day when she would wakeup to the hangover from hell.

She pulled her hand out from under his and said in a slurred speech, "I haven't had enough until I've forgotten. Forgotten about the slutty panties and …" She paused as she was unexpectedly overcome by a rush of emotions. She seemed to be fighting not to cry, but it was a losing battle.

The air was filled with an unrecognizable Dave Matthew's Band song, which didn't seem to match Addison's miserable position. Alex watched as Joe patted her hand and turned to help the next customer. Eyes closed, she swayed to the music gently. Alex knew her actions weren't meant to be seductive, but they sure as hell weren't helping him want to rush over there any less. He traced the rim of his beer glass absentmindedly as he continued to watch her, until finally, she stopped as the song ended. Another song came on by a modern artist, one Alex didn't know. He stared at the beer in front of him and downed its remaining contents before suddenly approaching her. He didn't know why, but he felt compelled to be next to her.

Before he knew what he was doing he was asking if he could join her. Without even glancing at him she muttered a "sure." He was somewhat hurt by her lack of a better response, but quickly shrugging it off, he joined her.

Her eyes seemed fixated on one of the many shot glasses in front of her. Alex followed her gaze and asked, "Aren't you going to drink it?" He offered as a way of breaking her out of her trance.

"What's the point?" She asked tiredly. "It doesn't help…"

"What would?"

Addison broke her gaze and finally looked into Alex's eyes for the first time that night. "I don't know." She said truthfully. Her eyes once again fell upon her semi empty glass, but Alex's remained on her. She chuckled lightly and said, "I'm drunk, but not too drunk not to notice you checking me out."

Alex smiled. "You're right. I am checking you out. Is that wrong?"

She looked up at him. "No, as a newly divorced woman it's … it's actually comforting." Her tone seemed to have a sad underlining to it. She cleared her throat as if the moment had gotten too awkward for her and she changed the subject. "So, Karev-"

"It's Alex." He said, cutting her off.

"What?"

"We're not at work, so it's Alex." He said smirking.

She smiled. "Okay … I forgot what I was about to say." She said laughing a little. Alex also laughed and said, "You must be drunk."

"Hey!" She said with a pointed finger, "I can hold my liquor thank you very much."

"The shaky finger disagrees with said statement." He said smugly.

She glared at him in a joking manner. "That may be so." She grew quiet and Alex sensed she was venturing back to her gloomy state.

"Hey." Alex said as he leaned towards her and smiled gently.

"Hey yourself." She said, returning his smile, although hers was more reserved than his had been. She looked up at him and shook her head. "What are you doing here?"

Alex shrugged he sensed that question was coming; fortunately he had an answer ready. "Long day. Plus Sloan was being a jerk again."

"You're telling me." Addison muttered.

He paused, thinking he heard her say something, but she only looked at him and asked, "What'd he do this time?"

"Besides making me his own personal delivery boy? Nothing. And I mean that too, absolutely no surgeries."

"I'm sorry." She said, in a somewhat slurred tongue, she seemed to mean it though.

"It's not your fault he's an ass." He said reassuringly.

"Yeah." She sighed. Alex could sense a bit of disbelief in her tone.

"So as long as we're talking about our days, how was yours?" It seemed unnatural to ask her this, even to him, and he could see that she thought so too by the way she was looking at him. "Really Karev? You honestly care how my day went."

"Yes, I can honestly say I do." He didn't even bother telling her to call him Alex again. In truth, he liked the way his last name rolled off her tongue, no sense changing it now.

She was taken aback, he could tell. Her mouth hung slightly, which Alex found to be quite hot. She smiled, not a fake smile, a genuine smile, but it quickly faded once she answered. "My day … was fine. I mean it was long, but it was alright."

"Seriously?" He asked her sarcastically. "You seriously expect me to buy that crap?"

"What? It _was_ fine. _Now,_ I'm not so sure about." She said smiling at him.

He nodded, "Alright, I'll take that hit. I can leave right now you know." He said as he pretended to get up. Addison placed a hand on his arm to stop him. "No." She said, rather too quickly. "Don't go." Alex stopped and turned around to face her, trying but failing to hide how amused he was by the situation. He sat back down, but her hand remained clasped to his arm, he didn't bother saying anything about it.

Alex didn't know when, but somehow Joe managed to place another shot glass in front of her, one that she was now downing. She slammed the glass on the bar and it made a rough _clank_ against the hard wood. He watched her, mesmerized by her actions. Without even looking at him she said, "You're doing it again."

"What?"

"The staring thing." She said, this time while looking at him.

"I'm just trying to understand why Shepherd and Sloan gave you up. Besides the fact that they're idiots."

She gave a drunken laugh. "Funny Karev … real funny."

Alex shook his head. "No, I mean it. If I had someone half as great as you, I wouldn't give her up without a fight." There was lingering eye contact and he didn't know the exact moment until it happened, but her face was but inches away from his, his eyes looking directly into hers. Her eyes left his, but for only a second as she glanced at his lips. He knew this wasn't the place, but right then, he really couldn't care less. He took his moment as he closed the gap between their lips. Kissing her, he didn't feel a spark like he thought he would. No chills were sent up and down his spine. What he found was comfort, comfort and an insane amount of heat.

---

I take reviews sunny-side up with a side of bacon. :)


	2. Chapter 2

Okay besides the fact that this chapter sucks, I just realized that I spelled Izzie's name wrong, originally I had spelled it like "Izzy". Wow, I'm a little off tonight.

**----**

**Chapter Two**

"Alex, are you going to eat those?" It was probably the second time she had asked him, but he still hadn't responded. He was too interested in the scene playing out before him. Addison had been sitting alone for quite some time before Sloan decided to sit next to her. Her face immediately fell when she laid eyes on him.

Alex had been trying to figure out what they were talking about before a hand suddenly waved him back to his own table. Finally, he broke his gaze and looked into Izzie's confused eyes.

"Hello, I've been trying to ask you if you were going to eat those" she pointed to his unopened bag of chips "for about five minutes, where were you?"

"No, I'm not going to eat them." He said as he threw her the bag of chips. She caught them and muttered a sarcastic, "Okay…" and opened the bag of chips.

Back at the other table Alex could tell that Addison was less than thrilled with the company next to her. They were shouting at one another. It was inaudible, but they were yelling at each other, Alex could tell by the hand gestures and expressions on their faces. What puzzled him was why Sloan looked equally angry with Addison as she did him.

_What the hell is he angry with her for?_

He knew it shouldn't bother him. God, when the hell did it start bothering him? He cursed this woman who started to make him care so much. That was the thing, he did care, and when Sloan obviously told Addison to "go to hell". Alex wanted nothing more than to go over there and kick his ass.

"What are we looking at?" It was Christina who asked, as her and George joined the table. Alex could feel their eyes on him, but he refused to look away.

"What's with him?" Christina asked, pointing at Alex with her uneaten banana. Izzie merely shrugged and whispered, "I think he misses the gynie squad." He could hear both George and Christina laugh.

"Shut up." Alex muttered as he finally broke his gaze and looked at the three of them.

"Seriously Alex, why are you so obsessed with Addison anyway?" Izzie asked, but before Alex had a chance at answering, Meredith walked up and slammed her tray on the table. "Do I snore?" She asked. All of them were trying their best not to laugh, even Alex as he silently thanked Meredith and all her problems.

--

"Karev, where the hell have you been? I had to get my own coffee this morning, not to mention I have two burn victims waiting for me."

Alex bit his tongue back and simply nodded. "Sorry sir." He paused a moment before asking, "Can I scrub in?" He hated the fact that his whole career laid in the hands of this arrogant jackass.

"No. What you can do is find my cell phone for me. I think I left it in one of the on-call rooms."

"Mark." Both Alex and Sloan turned at the sound of her voice. "Do you think it's possible you can actually _teach_ your intern something other than how to find a cell phone in a huge hospital?" Addison asked as she looked up from the chart she had been carrying.

Mark smiled in disbelief. "You're defending him? You know what? Since you're so intent on playing his guardian, you can have him for the day." With that, he walked away.

Both of them were left staring off in the direction Mark had taken off to. "I guess you're my intern for the day." She said silently.

They both were silent for a minute before Alex spoke. "I sorry, about last night." He hated bringing it up, but he knew that it was in both their minds.

She held up a hand. "Don't be. I was the one that let the situation get out of hand. So, I'm sorry." She pursed her lips and began looking over the chart in front of her.

Alex thought for a moment before saying, "I'm not."

Her head snapped up at his confession. "What?"

"Sorry. I know I said I was, but … I'm not. I wouldn't have done anything differently."

She seemed lost for words. Her mouth hung open but the only thing that escaped was his name. "Alex …" She shook her head, as if she was on the verge of breaking down. She then looked in his eyes and he was right, she was on the verge, her tear stained eyes made it abundantly clear. "I can't do this right now."

He took a step towards her and nodded. "I know. I don't want to be one of those jerks that ruins your day, I don't. That's why I'm only going to say this, meet me at Joe's tonight, after work."

"I …" She was about to object, but he stopped her before she had a chance to say no.

"Meet me at Joe's and then let me take you to dinner."

He had no idea where this courage was coming from; all he knew was that his mouth had taken over and was saying everything that his heart had wanted to. And now, there was awkwardness. He knew she would say no, her lips were forming the word, and now all she had to do was say it.

She took a shaky breath in and thought about her next words.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three up. And I would just like to thank you for all of your wonderful reviews. Thank you so much, there wouldn't be a story without readers, so I'm very thankful to all of you.

Now then, back to business. :P I enjoyed this chapter a little bit more than the last, so I hope you do as well.

**--------**

**Chapter Three**

****

"I … can't." She seemed to be struggling to say the words. As she said them however, her eyes never left his

He had expected her to say no. It was Addison Forbes Montgomery-once-Shepherd after all. She was classy, sophisticated, and gorgeous. Now she only portrayed one of those. Despite all her best efforts at being miserable, she was never anything short of beautiful. He wasn't her type, Alex understood that, so when she shut him down he simply nodded and started walking away.

"Alex wait."

He turned and was finally able to take in the way she was standing. Both hands were now gripping the counter, as if it were her life support, also, her head hung low. She no longer exuded self-confidence as she once had. Alex's brow furrowed with confusion, he barely recognized her.

Alex's thoughts were interrupted however, when Addison whispered, "I'm sorry." Her gaze hung heavily on the floor in front of him. A few seconds later she looked up at him and repeated her unnecessary apology.

To say he was confused would be an understatement. Slowly, he walked towards her and stopped when he was but a few inches away. "What are you sorry about?" He asked softly.

Her eyes bore into his as she said, "I don't want you to get mixed up with me."

He understood now, or at least he thought he did. In truth, he knew absolutely nothing about Addison.

"Would it help if I wanted to?"

Her brows furrowed as she asked, "But why? Why would anyone _choose_ to get involved in a mess?"

He gave her a crooked smile and said confidently, "You're not a mess."

She scoffed sarcastically, "Oh, I beg to differ."

Her head hung so low, that Alex had to actually bend over to look her in the eye. He looked through the red hair that had fallen out of her clip and into her face and said, "Let me take you to dinner."

From the spectator's view, it looked as if they were about to kiss, but at that moment, Alex didn't care if the nurses saw them.

Staring into his eyes, she seemed to be analyzing his facial features to see if he was serious or not. Once again, her eyes glanced towards his lips and Alex thought she actually was going to kiss him, but then she said, "Alright, but you'll be regretting it later."

He laughed, trying to shake off how hot it had suddenly become "No doubt about it." He wish his voice didn't sound too forced as he slowly backed away from her. His throat suddenly felt tight.

While flashing him a small smile she said, "You're an interesting guy Karev."

"I think so." He said with a slight nod. Walking backwards, he looked at her as he said, "Joes, tonight at seven." He really didn't want to leave, but he needed space. For some reason, he couldn't think with her so close to him.

After he had turned she took in a deep breath and said, "Alright."

--

As she walked away she had to ask herself, _what the hell am I doing?_ But despite questioning herself, she couldn't mask the smile that was forming at the corners of her mouth. Her smile faded however when an all too familiar voice was heard behind her.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing?"

She stopped, wishing he wasn't as angry as his voice sounded. Slowly, she turned and sighed, he was indeed mad. "Right now? I'm working."

Mark nodded and said, "So that's what we call flirting with our interns these days huh? Interesting."

Her eyes widened and she took a step towards him. "You were spying on us? And we weren't-" She stopped when curious glances made their way towards them. She took another step towards him and whispered, "We weren't flirting … you know what? Why am I defending myself to you? You shouldn't even have been there anyways."

"I forgot something, and it's a good thing I did. You know, it's pathetic really, that on this particular day, you manage to forget everything." He paused, then, "I'm glad you can go back to being happy Addison, really." She was all of a sudden overcome with a huge amount of guilt, though she wasn't about to let Mark know.

He was about to walk away but Addison wouldn't let him, she wasn't about to let him have the last word. She swallowed her guilt and said, "Don't you dare judge me. I spent years being unhappy, not days, not weeks, years. And now, I might actually have a chance at real happiness here. To be honest, I don't know what I'm doing. But I'm not about to sit and let it pass me by without trying. So no, you don't get to judge me." She would have stood there a second longer to watch his reaction, but at that exact moment she needed air. She turned and when she was out of his line of sight, she ran.

She didn't think she'd ever moved so fast in her life. In the middle of running she thanked god that she had changed into her Nike's, she didn't want to imagine what she'd look like running in high heels. She ran so fast, she barely had time to register the many questioning glances from her fellow coworkers as she raced passed them.

Addison didn't stop until she was outside. It was raining and she suddenly had an impulse to go out there and let the rain wash her away, but she didn't. If she had to guess, she'd say it was about eight o'clock, and she really didn't feel like spending the rest of the two hours working while dripping wet.

She bent over, trying but failing to catch her breath. Finally, she gave up and decided to sit against the cold cement wall of the hospital. Chills went down her spine as her back connected with the freezing wall. Taking an exhausted breath in, she decided to lie down. Placing both palms on her forehead she closed her eyes and wondered when her life had gotten so chaotic.


	4. Chapter 4

Another chapter in less than 24 hours, damn I'm good. Okay maybe not, but I love writing these guys so I'm happy to write five chapters in one day. I don't know how my social life will respond to that though. Well I don't think I'll be able to update again until tomorrow night because I have work, but I'll try my best.

And sorry if this chapter has spelling and gramatical errors, I didn't do a good job proof reading it.

Oh and by the way, it was neat that I predicted where they would actually kiss. Thanks for noticing that. ;)

**--------------**

**Chapter Four**

"What are you doing?"

Addison's eyes remained closed as she answered Callie. "Just trying to remind myself why I came to Seattle."

"So you have to lie on the ground to do that?" This time, Addison slowly removed her hands and looked up at a confused, Callie. A smile played delicately on her lips and Addison would have laughed herself at the situation, if she hadn't been so miserable.

"Maybe." She answered and started to push herself up as Callie took a seat next to her.

"How long have you been out here?"

Addison shrugged, "I don't know, not long. Why, what time is it?"

She looked down at her watch and answered, "Almost six."

Her head snapped towards Callie. "Really?" _Seems I was way off._

Callie furrowed a brow and nodded. "Yeah."

They both were silent as the rain continued to pour. Some people found the sound of the rain to be loud, Addison thought it was peaceful and she wanted nothing more than to curl into bed and fall asleep to it's lullaby.

"Any plans tonight?" Callie asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"Besides working?" _And the date I can't make, _Addison thought to herself. She had completely forgotten she worked until ten when she had agreed to Alex's offer. Fortunately for her though she was looking for a way of letting him down easy, she couldn't go on a date with him, not now. Her life was a puzzle and she didn't need to add one more piece to the mess.

"Um I just checked and it says you're off at six."

"What day is it?" Addison asked quickly.

"… Friday … Okay, now I'm starting to worry about you."

Addison sighed as she brought a weary hand to her head. "I've been so caught up with the date of today that I've completely forgotten which day of the week it is." _Guess I can make that date after all, _she thought tiredly.

Callie watched Addison's actions carefully and finally she asked, "Are you okay?"

Resting her chin on her knees she shook her head and stared blankly in front of her. "No … I'm not."

Callie hesitated before finally placing a comforting hand on her friend's back. "If you want to talk, I'm all ears."

Shaking her head, Addison broke her gaze and stared into Callie's reassuring eyes. "I'm sorry, it's not you I just … not tonight."

"Alright, but whenever you're ready."

"I know, and thank you for that." She gave Callie a small smile before deciding to get up and go on with tonight.

--

Alex wasn't the tie wearing type; he was more of the jeans and a t-shirt kind of guy. But while he got ready he couldn't stop thinking about what Addison would wear and how he couldn't compete.

"What the hell are you doing?" He yelled at his reflection. He was angry. He was angry at Mark for making her feel like crap, he was angry that he couldn't get within five feet of her and couldn't think, he was angry that he couldn't make her happy.

For a long while he started at his mirror image, then with a shake of his head he changed his tie for the second time.

Taking a deep breath in, he finally made a decision.

--

6:50

Alex couldn't remember the last time he took a drink of his beer. He remembered ordering it at around six, but he didn't actually remember taking a drink. Looking at it, he realized that he hadn't even touched it.

The wonderful thing about Joe's bar was that there was a bell on the door. The most annoying thing about Joe's bar was that there was a bell on the door.

Alex couldn't help but jump every time that damn bell rung.

--

6:55

Addison sat on the end of her bed, fully ready, gripping a small article of clothing that her baby never had a chance to wear. The small Yankee's onesie was meant for a child of two years. Addison laughed at Mark's incapability to even buy the right size. She wasn't even aware that she was crying until she felt the pool of tears around her eyes threatening to fall. In all her life she hadn't cried so much as she did that entire week, not even when Derek had left her. She had been too numb back then to cry.

It wasn't like she had wanted a baby with Mark; she just wanted a baby in general. She wanted a chance at happiness, a chance at having a real family. She couldn't see herself opening Christmas presents with Mark and their child. She was envious of all the mothers that came to the hospital seeking her help, it was ridiculous, and she knew it.

She shook her head as she brought herself back to the present by looking at her clock. The numbers were hazy and she realized then that her vision was blurred and that her eyes stung. She quickly wiped her eyes and read the time.

_Five minutes._

Sighing she reached for the phone and dialed Alex's number, intending to tell him she couldn't make it, however on the first ring she hung up.

--

She was late. Alex was now the type of person who wore ties for people who didn't even decide to show up. Shaking his head he couldn't believe his attending had stood him up.

Pushing his beer aside, he called Joe over and said, "Joe, I'm going to need something a lot harder than this."

--

She was late. For the past five minutes Addison stared vacantly at the clock watching as time passed her by. She was shaken out of her daze when her cell phone vibrated against her leg. Without even looking to see who it was she answered. "Hello?"

"So I see your intern is all by himself." Mark's smug voice was heard on the other end.

Suddenly Addison was snapped back into reality as her anger boiled. "Mark where are you?" She stood up; she was unable to sit when she was angry.

"I was thirsty so I thought I'd throw a few back, why?" He asked innocently. She could practically see his smirk as he talked.

"Mark why are you doing this?" She hated that her voice was failing her.

"Why am I doing what?"

"Mark … I'm not going to do this, I'm not. I'm not going to play this game with you, not now."

"Is that because you're late for your da-" She knew what he was about to say, but she didn't need to hear it, instead she slammed the phone down, hopefully hard enough for it to be heard on the other end.


	5. Chapter 5

I had to give you guys what you want. Stayed up will two in the morning, but it was definitely worth it. Now, I'll probably get about seven hours of sleep before work, but who needs sleep when you're writing Addison/Alex?

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**Chapter Five**

"This seat taken?" Alex cringed at the voice asking those words. He turned and was met by Mark Sloan.

"Nah, I guess not." He answered regretfully. He had wanted to say no, he was going to say no, but instead said yes, all rational thought out the window.

"Joe another one of these please." Mark yelled, holding up an empty bottle. Alex couldn't put his finger on it, but he could tell a difference in his voice, something troublesome, not that he cared in the least bit. Alex actually hoped Mark felt like he looked, because looking at him now, he must have felt like crap.

Alex sighed as Joe brought Mark his beer, he'd given up on Addison coming about ten minutes ago. It was now seven-thirty and Alex sat with someone whom he'd thought he'd never sit with, or even wanted to sit with.

"You don't know a lot about her do you?" Mark asked suddenly, completely out of the blue which had caught Alex off guard.

Alex raised a quizzical brow and asked, "What-what do you mean?"

"You know damn well what I mean. Addison." He answered in a slightly more offensive tone than he had before.

Alex was speechless. He didn't know if he was defending Addison or trying to keep Alex away from her to benefit himself. Alex also didn't understand why Mark was even asking him about Addison, for all Mark knew she was his attending, nothing more.

"All I'm saying is that we have history, history that you don't know anything about. And I just find it funny that on this day, you decide to ask her out." He stared at him curiously. "Unless, you somehow knew what today was?"

"No …" His voice trailed as his confusion grew. _What was today?_ Alex was starting to wonder if the confrontation between the two during lunch had anything to do with what Mark was talking about. Alex then thought about Addison's weary stance earlier that day and how it looked as if someone had completely drained her. _What was today?_ He asked himself again, as all sorts of possibilities ran through his head.

"Good." Mark said, interrupting his thoughts. Getting up he took a ten-dollar bill out of his wallet and placed it on the counter. Before leaving he said, "Good talking with you Karev, I just might let you scrub in on my surgeries after all." Alex watched as he left, wondering what the hell he was talking about and if he even wanted in on his surgeries.

--

Alex wasn't drunk; he didn't get drunk, not easily at least. He walked out of the bar at nine wondering if he'd have felt any better if he were drunk. He didn't think it'd hurt this much to have her not show up. This woman had completely corrupted his mind but strangely it was in a way Alex wasn't completely dissatisfied with. He liked thinking about the way her hair fell delicately out of her clip and the way it brushed against her perfect lips.

Alex was thinking about her lips and was going to completely pass her by except that her shampoo would have made it impossible. It was some kind of fruit that Alex couldn't identify even if he tried. He stopped and turned to find half her form hidden in the shadows from the buildings.

"You came." He said simply, hoping that his voice didn't sound as constricted as it felt.

Slowly she stepped out of the shadows and nodded. "I did."

As she stepped into the light Alex saw that she had indeed dressed up for their date and that she looked amazing. His eyes traveled from her gorgeous red hair down her slender figure and landed on her perfect legs.

Addison smiled as she tried to hide the heat that had all of a sudden crept into her cheeks. Alex stepped towards her, still eyeing her and said, "Wow … this almost makes up for you being late. You look …" He shook his head, unable to come up with a word to describe how incredible she looked.

"I'm sorry … for being late. I was going to come, I don't want you to think that I didn't want to, because I did, but then … something came up, and I … I'm sorry."

She was rambling, which Alex found charming, but what she was rambling about had him worried. "Don't apologize. I actually had an interesting conversation with Sloan."

"Mark?" Addison asked as her head snapped up at his name. He didn't want to bring it up, but his curiosity was burning him alive and he couldn't help it. Looking at her face in that moment though, Alex wished he hadn't brought it up. For some strange reason, she looked scared, as if all wounds had been exposed to the world.

If Alex could choose a super power, it would be to go back in time. "I'm sorry." He said, hoping that it would be enough to stop the tears in her eyes.

The tears had stopped, but one sniffle made it past. "What did he-Did he say anything?"

Alex shook his head, "No. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought him up."

"No it's fine, it's just … complicated right now. Today especially." There it was again, _today._ Alex wished she were comfortable enough to tell him what all this _today_ crap was about.

Silence, then, "I'm sorry for ruining our date."

"Hey, the day's not over yet. I mean most places are closed but I can whip something up at my house."

She thought for a moment before saying, "Yeah, I'd like that."

--

"Well this is it." He said as he pointed out the small condo he called home.

She eyed the condo thoughtfully and nodded, "It's nice."

"Don't lie. It's livable." He said, slight humor in his voice.

She smiled and smacked him playfully in the chest. "I wasn't lying, it is nice. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder Karev."

He smiled when she addressed him by his last name. "Said from a beautiful woman." He said facing her. He hadn't realized how close they were until they reached the door. They stared at each other's faces, and Alex asked himself why he had been such an ass to her when he had first met her. She was leaning into him and their eyes traveled crazily, hers onto his lips and his onto hers until finally they rested upon each other's eyes. Alex didn't know who leaned in first, probably both at the same time, but the next thing he knew their lips collided. Their kiss was slow at first, but intensified by each growing second. Both found that they wanted more and Alex quickly rummaged for his keys, never taking his lips off of Addison's.

Opening his door had never been more interesting, and thinking about it later, he'll probably never look at it the same way again. From Addison's shifting weight, to having his eyes closed, he didn't know how he orchestrated opening the door, but surprisingly the door had managed to open.

Keys fell from his hands and they took their rightful place on her hips as he led her into the living room. She quickly kicked the door closed and Alex didn't know if he found anything sexier.

Pushing her against the door his lips traveled from hers to her chin, then to her neck, she moaned against his lips and the vibrations she sent made him smile.

His coat was the first thing to go. Their lips pulled apart momentarily while she impatiently pulled the tie off of him. She threw it to the side, and it quickly joined his coat.

Her arms rested comfortably on his shoulders as his hands slowly traveled up her side and finally reached the zipper of her dress. She closed her eyes as the contact of his hands sent shivers down her spine. Little by little he undid her dress and later it would join the ever-growing pile of clothes.


	6. Chapter 6

I waited to post this because I didn't have enough reviews so ...

Yeah that's a load of crap, the reviews have succeeded my expectations (about ten times) and that's all thanks to you gentle reviewers. So, thank you, you guys are the best for making me feel like my story is somewhat readable.

And lastly, can you believe last nights episode? Alex wants her, he's just being coy. Only time will tell.

--

**Chapter Six**

"_What was I thinking?"_ Addison wanted to scream at herself as she opened her eyes to find Alex's naked body beside her. She never thought she'd be the one who slept with inappropriate men, first Mark, now Alex. She thought about her life and all of its many complexities as she slowly crawled out of Alex's bed, thankful that she didn't wake him in the process.

Once she was safely out of his bed, taking a sheet with her, she began scanning the floor for her dress. A tiny layer of light escaped through the curtains which gave her enough of a lamp to see her dress lying not so innocently under Alex's shirt and tie.

She picked the shirt up and glanced at the man who went out of his way to dress up for her. Despite her growing protests she realized that she _could_ care for him. She quickly shook her head at the thought; she couldn't bring herself to drag someone else into her mess of a life, even if the sex had been great.

She put the shirt back and while slipping her dress on, hit her elbow on his dresser. She cried out in pain, but stopped herself when she saw Alex stir. She placed her hand over her mouth until he stopped moving. Sighing a breath of relief that she hadn't wakened him, she slowly tiptoed out of the room, and finally out of his house.

--

Addison had managed to avoid Alex for the most part of the day. She turned corners whenever he so much as looked her way. Guilt shook her as she pressed her back against the door to her office.

The rest of her day was spent mostly in the OR, that is until Alex pulled her into the stairwell, looking as angry as she had expected him to.

Looking into his eyes, she could see that as angry as he was, he was equally hurt. "You left." He started. "When I woke up, you were gone."

"Alex…" It seemed like a plea as his name rolled off her tongue, a plea for him to not put her through this right then.

"No. You left, and I know why you left, because you thought it was a mistake right? You sleeping with me, it was mistake." His stare was intense, and Addison could practically feel the pain he emitted through his voice. Once Alex was finished with what he was saying, he turned to walk away, but for some reason, she found herself reaching out to grab him.

"Alex." He stopped, but refused to turn around, so she went around to meet his eyes. "I'm sorry. I can't begin to say how sorry I am … I-" she shook her head, unable to express what she was feeling.

"I get it alright, you're hot and everything, but you're not attracted to me. That's fine. There are plenty more fish in the sea that are just as hot." Casting her one last glance, he removed his hand from her grasp and left, leaving Addison feeling somewhat rejected.

--

Alex stared at the surgery taking place before him with nothing more than mild interest. His thoughts were solely on the woman who made his mind reel. He hadn't meant to hurt Addison by what he had said; he was angry, angry that she seemed embarrassed by sleeping with him.

"Okay, what is wrong with _him?" _Izzie's voice asked the other interns around her. Alex suddenly broke his thoughts and looked at Izzie. "Nothing." He said disbelievingly.

Izzie raised an eyebrow as she said, "Seriously Alex, there are worse things than admitting you miss gynie."

Alex's head shot up. "What? I don't miss working with Addison, wh-why would you say that I miss working with Addison?" He rambled defensively.

Izzie eyed him, as well as Meredith and Christina and Izzie said, "First of all, I _didn't _say that you missed working with _Addison_, and second of all when did you start calling Dr. Montgomery, Addison?" The last part of Izzie's question came more rushed than the beginning which had Alex feeling like he was being interrogated.

They all eyed him suspiciously until Christina, clearly over waiting for Alex to explain, asked, "Speaking of Montgomery, did you hear about her running through the hospital like a madwoman?"

This produced an astonished "What?" from both Meredith and Izzie. Alex however looked at them with furrowed brows and asked a serious, "What are you talking about, when?"

Christina looked at him curiously while answering, "Yesterday I think, why so interested?"

"Yeah Alex?" Izzie asked. Meredith merely chuckled at the turn of events.

He looked nervously at the women in front of him. "No reason, it's just she seemed weird yesterday."

They seemed to critique him before Izzie agreed. "You know, she did seem weird yesterday." Her eyes however, remained on Alex as he said, "I just remembered I had to find someone."

After he was gone, Izzie muttered under her breath, "He's acting weird too."

--

"You couldn't go through with it could you?"

Addison sighed heavily as she removed her glasses. "Mark, you _really_ have the worst timing. Couldn't you just respect the fact that I don't want to talk to you?"

"Couldn't you just respect the fact that I do?" He replied smugly.

"Please." For the fist time that day, she faced him, looking him straight in the eye.

Instead of granting her wish, he asked, "So what was it that made you change your mind? It wouldn't be because of which day it was would it?"

Any idiot could see that she was on the verge of crying, Mark though took it as his chance to get back at her.

"Dr. Montgomery, we need you." Addison turned at the voice of Callie and the words that saved her from nearly breaking down in front of her colleagues. Without so much as muttering a simple 'good-bye' to Mark, she walked with Callie.

"So where is this surgery?" She asked, as she tried her best to compose herself. Instead of answering, Callie pulled her into an on-call room. "Hey what do you think you're-"

Once they were inside, Callie cut her off by saying, "Spill."

Sighing, Addison sat on the edge of one of the beds. "There's nothing to-"

Cutting her off once again, Callie said, "That's bullcrap, and I'm saying this as a friend, I'm worried about you. Just this morning I heard a rumor about a crazy woman running through the halls, and now I find you almost crying while talking with Sloan. So?" Sitting herself next to Addison, Callie readily awaited her answer.

"Thank you … for being so … demanding as a friend. But I'm fine, really." Callie gave her a look saying that she obviously didn't believe her and Addison gave in. "Okay, I'm not fine. I'm even more not-fine today."

"Oh no. What'd you do?"

"Alright, but no judging. In this case, you aren't one to judge because you're doing the exact same thing with O'Malley." She said, needing a verbal okay before she continued.

"What do you … oh." Callie said, as her eyes grew wide. "Oh!"

Addison quickly shushed her.

"So you? And an intern? Who?"

Casting a shameful glance downwards she answered, "Karev."

"I knew it!" Callie said excitedly. She stopped however when she saw the look on Addison's face. "Oh. This wasn't one of those drunken mistakes right? Because I seriously don't see you jumping onto the bandwagon."

Groaning Addison shook her head. "No, unfortunately there was no alcohol within the vicinity. I was perfectly sober, except…"

"Except?" Callie asked, urging her to continue.

Addison faced her and said, "Except for the fact that I slept with Alex Karev."


	7. Chapter 7

Thank you! Can't talk much, or rather type much. Just wanted to say thank you for the constant support of this fic. You guys are the best reviewers a gal can have. :D Also, I changed the name of the story, same story, just different title. I think you guys know the reason why. :P

And one more thing. I don't know if you guys have noticed or not, but I always start my chapters with dialogue, I've never tried it before so it's pretty interesting. Just wondering if you've noticed.

----

**Chapter Seven**

"Don't make mistakes." Addison whispered to Laura, the tiny baby whom she had been monitoring for the week. Wiping away a tear that threatened to fall, she thought about the mistake she had made that had unraveled a series of mistakes. Mark Sloan was at the base of those mistakes. He was the foundation on which her mistakes were built on. Alex Karev was soon becoming a close second.

"I thought I'd find you here." His voice came from behind her, causing her to jump in response.

"Alex." She said, afterwards taking in a deep breath.

Walking towards her, Alex could swear that he saw remnants of tears. "Have you been crying?" He found himself asking.

Laughing she shook her head, which despite herself, invited more tears. "Shocking isn't it? I'm crying for what … the millionth time this week?"

He watched her struggle with herself before finally walking over and placing both hands on her arms, holding her in place, their faces only inches away from the other's. "Hey, look at me." She fought him for a second until she rested her eyes securely on his. "I don't hold it against you … leaving. I get it, you regretted it, I didn't, but hey? That's just me." Looking at him, Addison could tell that he was serious and regardless of what her brain was telling her, she leaned forward, capturing his lips in hers.

Alex's brain on the other hand, was going into overdrive. He responded to her advance, and even welcomed it. That was, until he broke it off. "Addison wait."

She could practically feel his burning gaze on her, but she refused to open her eyes.

"Whatever had you saying yes to going out with me just happened again didn't it?"

Slowly, she opened her eyes. "I hate him for making me feel like this, but then again I don't blame him." She explained softly and she could tell that Alex was confused, but he let her continue anyways. "Every time I look at him I'm reminded of what I could have had … not with him because he would have made a terrible father." She took a deep breath in, then "I just … I need clarity, but you're making that impossible."

Alex studied her as he tried to process everything she was telling him. He understood what she was saying about her and Mark, although he thought he did, he hoped, on the other hand, that he was wrong. He looked intently into the eyes of the woman before him, the very woman who had him questioning everything around him.

Her eyes left his and traveled to the newborn, whose life had barely just begun. "I have a way of sabotaging my own life."

"No, Mark has a way of interfering with your life and making you feel like crap. He's good at that. You just, you need to fight him. I'm here, to help you fight him." Alex was never a man of words, more of a man of action, who rose to the occasion with fists rather than words of negotiation. He was also never one to openly display what he was feeling; she was quickly changing that in him.

"I had an abortion. Eight months ago." She said, her voice was filled with pain. Her eyes found their way back to his as she continued. "I could have had a child this week. A child …" A smile crept up on her, but it was a sad smile and as quickly as it had come, it vanished. "He was cheating on me with every woman he came into contact with, he thought I didn't know, but I knew. Derek also found someone new … what makes you think that you won't?"

Alex didn't know what to say. He watched painfully as the woman he cared for poured her heart out to him and obviously waited for him to say something to comfort her fears. He'd never been in this situation before, and he'd never found himself caring for her more, than he had then.

"I won't." He said, and as expected she quickly turned her head away in dismay. As if to ensure his feelings, he quickly grabbed hold of her arms and wouldn't let up until she looked back at him. "Listen to me, I won't. Those guys are idiots who never saw what that they had in front of them all along. I'll admit, I used to be one of those guys, but then I opened my eyes, or rather you did. Now … I can't help but look at you and think of how great you are and hope that even for a second, you would glance my way, because even then, I'd be the luckiest man in the world. I'm not saying that I want you to marry me, I just want you to consider the possibility of seeing me the way I see you."

Her throat had never been tighter than in that moment of declaration. Alex Karev was continuing to surprise her. She swallowed the lump that had formed itself during his speech and slowly her eyes traveled to where her lips wanted to be again, on his. Alex stood in anticipation over her next words, but they never came, instead he was slowly pulled forward as his lips met hers.

Her hands traveled up to the back of Alex's head and she held him in place, not letting him interject on this kiss.

His hands however, fought their way under her white coat and rested just barely under her bra strap. He rubbed her back eagerly as he felt her tongue fight entrance into his mouth, without a second thought, he gave her access, and soon his tongue joined hers.


	8. Chapter 8

Alright, shortest chapter yet, but I thought I owed you guys something after the great reviews I've been receiving. One day I'll thank each individual person for his/her (mostly her, if not all) kind words. That day, unfortunately isn't today though. Much too tireds, long day at the restaruant.

Well, hope you like the newest chapter. More to come very soon.

----------

**Chapter Eight**

"I think … maybe … we … should … stop." Addison managed to get in between trying to fight off Alex's eager lips. She didn't want to stop, it was just that they were in proximity to the nurse's station, and she didn't feel like being the latest gossip. The nurses had enough on their plate, what with George and Callie making out after his dad's surgery and all.

_That's something I probably need to talk to him about _… she thought, thinking about how she wanted to keep their newfound relationship under wraps.

"Yeah." Alex said breathlessly as he slowly pulled away. Addison looked at him, truly amazed that she was kissing the very intern she had once hated; thinking about it now, there probably had been an enormous amount of sexual tension, it was only now escalating. Suddenly, a smile snuck its way onto her face.

"What?" He asked, fighting the urge to smile himself. The thought of smiling faded however, when he was brought back to the pain she had just confessed to him, leaving him wondering if her smile was genuine, or a forced smile she was putting on for his behalf.

"Nothing … I just, I never thought I'd be kissing Alex Karev." Addison answered, and suddenly Alex found it hard not to smile as he looked at her and thought the exact same thing.

"I can top that, I'd never thought I'd be kissing Addison Forbes Montgomery." It was true too; the superior woman was almost at the bottom of his list, as far as people he thought he'd end up with went. She was first on an entirely different kind of list.

She made a face, bringing him out of his dirty thoughts, and said, "Oh don't say my middle name."

"Why?" Alex asked, laughing a little at the face she was making.

"Because, it sounds so editorial, like I'm some kind of ice queen with a stick up my ass."

Alex couldn't help but laugh at that. "But you're not."

"Oh-ho, I know what you were saying about me when I first arrived here." She brought a finger up to her mouth as she pretended to think. "Oh yes, Satan wasn't it? I also heard Satan's whore muttered throughout the halls."

Alex cringed. "You heard that huh?"

"Mm-hmm, yeah."

"Well if it makes you feel any better, I never thought Satan's whore would be this hot." Alex said with a smile as he leaned in and gave her a small kiss, hoping that would suffice. It also gave him another reason for him to once again kiss those flawless lips.

"Yeah, you're going to have a lot of making up to do." She said, as she opened her eyes after the kiss, now realizing how much she liked to feel his lips against hers, but as much as she liked kissing him, others wouldn't be so welcoming at the sight.

"Really?" He asked, placing both arms around her. "I'm looking forward to it." He said as he leaned in again for another kiss, but this time, was stopped by Addison's finger. "The key is being _discreet_ Karev. I don't want to be another Meredith and Derek."

Alex thought about that for a moment and then agreed, understanding why she would feel that way. "I don't either." He said, with mild disgust.

"So…" She started.

"The sex is going to have to wait until after work? Got it." He said smugly, loving that he was now able to talk to her this way.

_He is persistent, _She thought. She gave him a fake laugh and said, "No, and about that…"

"What? No sex? You're killing me here." She would've laughed if he hadn't been serious; the tone of his voice displayed nothing of the sort, but by his face she could tell that he was disappointed.

"No, I just thought we kind of rushed into _that_. I'd like to get to know you first before jumping into bed … again."

"Alright." He sighed. "So this means I won't be seeing that lacey number you were sporting for a while?" His smile somehow find its way back onto his face as he pictured what she had been wearing.

Closing her eyes, she cringed. "Oh god … I'm sorry about that." She mentally kicked herself for having gone overboard, but she _had_ wanted to dress up even if she hadn't planned on taking her clothes off.

"Don't be, it'll be forever burned into my memory, and for that, I thank you."

Smiling, she shook her head. "You really are something."

Both fell into a comfortable silence, finding reassurance in each other's eyes. Alex looked at her and wondered if her mind was still plagued with thoughts from the past. He could only hope that in the future she would somehow forget her afflicted history, and find a way to truly be happy again, Alex didn't care how long that would take either, he would wait.

"Are you going to be alright?" He found himself asking the very thing that was troubling him.

She laughed and nodded. "I think I am, I just need to remind myself…" Her voice trailed.

"What?"

"… not to get hurt."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **All I can say is, is that I've been extremely busy with work and actually having a life. So I'm sorry :( . But I'm back! For today among days to surely come. Hopefully this makes up for it, although there is not a whole lotta A/A lovins in this chapter.

**Chapter Nine**

Alex was at a loss for words. He didn't want to promise her that she wouldn't get hurt, because the future was undecided, and unexpected events were just around the corner. The only thing he could promise was that he himself would never do anything to hurt her, but he felt that saying so wouldn't give her enough reassurance, and that thought not only saddened him, but disappointed him as well. With very little hesitation, he quickly wrapped his arms around her protectively and gave her a gentle squeeze, hoping this would suffice to calm her growing fears.

He then realized how dry his throat seemed. "Listen I-" he swallowed before continuing, "I'm not going to-"

Suddenly Meredith walked through the doors, stopping when she saw the close proximity in which Alex and Addison were standing, and the fact that Alex's hands were tightly bound around Addison's figure. "Dr. Montgomery" she started nervously, "I'm sorry to barge in but, the Chief wanted to talk to you." She said lightly, as she tried to avert her eyes from them.

Amazingly enough, Alex refused to drop his hands from their place. In that moment he didn't care if the Chief himself walked in and witnessed their current position, he wasn't about to let the fear of being caught overpower his need to comfort Addison.

Addison nodded at Meredith and hoped that her tears were dried up enough so that Meredith wouldn't see. The last thing she wanted was for her ex-husbands girlfriend to see her crying, okay next to last. "Thank you Dr. Grey." She said in a semi-professional tone, as she tried to shrug off Alex's arms. He was unwilling to let go at first, but after seeing the pleading look in her eyes, gave in.

The last thing Meredith saw before she left was the awkward exchange between the two.

Addison sighed, knowing full well that the rumors were probably already starting to spread. She wanted to be angry at Alex for carelessly displaying his affections for her in such close proximity to anyone who might see, but found that she couldn't. His wanting to comfort her somewhat helped, and she was grateful to him for that. She hated to admit it, but she loved the way his arms wrapped so perfectly around her and his scent was enough to drive her mad.

She then noticed the change in his stature, his arms were crossed and he was looking at her expectantly. "I guess you should go see the Chief, I'll update you on her" he said, nodding towards the tiny infant whose room they were in, "when you come back Dr. Montgomery." She flinched at the way 'Dr. Montgomery' left his lips. She then watched as he swiftly turned around and walked out of the room.

She felt horrible for the way she shrugged out of his endearing embrace, but she felt that Alex of all people should have understood her wanting to keep their relationship under wraps, after all he agreed that he didn't want to become another 'Meredith and Derek'.

"This is going to be harder than I thought." She muttered under her breath.

--

"Alex."

Alex heard his name being called from behind him, but he continued to walk. He knew what she wanted to talk about, and he refused to let himself discuss his relationship with Addison to her. "Forget it Grey, not going to happen." He said over his shoulder.

"Alex." Meredith called for the umpteenth time. "Alex wait." She ran to catch up to him.

Finally, he stopped, causing Meredith to almost crash into him.

"What?" He asked forcefully, as he whipped around to face Meredith, and found that she was only inches away from him.

She jumped a little at the sharp tone of his voice and because she was so close, it only made him seem even angrier. She took a step back, and Alex could tell she was uncomfortable, so he collected himself before asking, "What?" again more softly.

"About what I just saw-" Meredith started hesitantly, but was interrupted by Alex brushing her off.

"Was nothing." He finished for her. "It wasn't anything at all." He said bitterly and for a moment, Meredith thought he was going to walk away, but he didn't.

"Okay..." Meredith said as she narrowed her eyes, knowing now that something was going on between the two of them.

He quickly ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "Was there something besides that that you wanted?" He knew that he was probably scaring Meredith, but at the moment, he didn't care. Addison wouldn't let him in, and it was the most painstakingly depressing thing, and not only that, she seemed ashamed of the feelings she held for him. That much was obvious when she literally pushed him off of her.

Meredith surprised him by seeming a little unfazed by his curt remark, and what surprised him even more was when she placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a sad smile. "I'm here, you know. If you ever want to talk." She whispered so that only he could hear her.

His face softened as he nodded. They were the same, him and Meredith. They were both damaged, both 'dark and twisty' despite his better judgment, he knew it. But what was worse was that not only was he damaged, but Addison was as well.

, he thought. 

--

"Chief you wanted to see me?"

Richard looked up from the article he was reading and sighed. "Sit down Addison." He said, as he gently pulled his reading glasses off and placed them on his desk.

Addison obeyed and sat herself in the seat directly facing the Chief's desk. Out of habit, she crossed her legs and placed her folded hands in her lap.

The Chief looked tired, worn out, and exhausted, and it only made him seem somewhat older. Addison hadn't realized how much the race to be the next Chief had taken out of her old friend, he looked as if he was about to throw in the towel, which made her wonder even more as to why he asked for her.

He was silent for a moment before saying, "I just spoke with Barbara." Addison's face fell at the name, Barbara had been the one conducting the interview to find the next Chief.

"And?" She asked nervously, although she knew full well what was coming.

"How do you think your interview went?" He asked, and Addison thought that was so like Richard, to reverse the roles on her as a way of escaping out of saying the words himself.

She cleared her throat as her eyes traveled to the small area in between his desk and her chair. "Not as well as I would have liked it to." She answered sadly, remembering that that was the day that she had almost kissed Alex, although there were many occasions when she thought about kissing him, but it was that night she had seriously considered it, it was also the day that she found out that Mark had slept with one of the nurses, although that was nothing new. What hurt was that once again, she was being rejected, thrown aside, alone. He had broken their sixty days of no sex to sleep with some bright-eyed nurse who had barely turned twenty-three. He had given up a chance at being with her, to sleep with another woman... again. So, as anyone could have imagined, during the interview she was plagued with uncertainty, and doubt, and last but not least she felt as if her self confidence was dangling on a string ready to break.

Richard pursed his lips and stood up, and before she knew it, he was beside her with his hand gripping hers. "Addison, look at me."

She fought against tears, and knew that if she looked at him they were on dangerous territory of falling. She considered Richard as her second father, and she'd be damned if she cried in front of him.

"Addison." His voice was stern, but also affectionate, something she loved about him. But she also found it annoying how he used that voice as a way of persuading her into doing what he wanted.

Slowly, she obeyed, and blinked as a tear escaped her and trailed lightly down her cheek.

"It's not over." He said in a determined voice. "You're still in this. You just have to try twice as hard."

She nodded, but quickly stopped as another tear followed the path left by the other.

"You're smart, and strong, and you need to pull it together if you want to win this." He said as he gently squeezed her hand.

"I need this. I _need_ to win Chief." She said softly and she quickly saw Richards face sadden as the grip on her hand loosened.

He was quiet for a moment before saying, "Then we may have a problem."


	10. Chapter 10

Haha I must say, you guys are a crackup. Sooo you want them to be on their honeymoon already huh Alexluv? Well unlucky for you readers, I'm sort of a sucker for the angst. In some of my other stories I've got written I have some fluff going on which is slowly starting to make me have angst withdrawls, so I've turned to this story to help with that addiction. :P

I wrote this chapter fairly quickly so hopefully there aren't too many grammatical errors and such. Hope you enjoy the light angst!

**Chapter Ten**

Addison felt physically drained. It was as if her meeting with the Chief had taken what little energy she had left. She knew that he was right though, that there was a major problem if she _needed_ the job. Needing a job just to give her life meaning, it felt silly, and thinking about it now, she couldn't help but laugh at herself. Knowing it wasn't a heartfelt laugh, but a sad and pathetic one, she stopped.

Sighing, she was starting to feel that maybe she should throw in the towel herself and end the race before she had a chance to lose. After all, it was inevitable that she would hear from Richard that although she tried her hardest, it wasn't enough.

Her hardest? She thought about that for a second. Had she been trying her hardest when she went on a date with an intern, an _intern? _(Not to mention slept with said intern) Had she been trying her hardest when she made a deal with Mark that if he were to go sixty days with no sex that she would consider giving 'them' another shot?

No.

She shook her head in embarrassment. No, in order for her to win Chief she was going to have to stay strictly professional. No Mark, ... no Alex. She felt a pang of sadness, but shook it off, knowing that she was in the most pivotal point of her career. No man, or intern for that matter, was going to get in the way. She was just going to have to end it, whatever 'it' was, between them.

Ugh. That discussion was ultimately going to be a dreadful one, one she was willing to avoid by all means possible. Maybe she wouldn't have to say the words. Maybe, just maybe they could avoid that conversation altogether. All she had to do was shut him out, something she wasn't entirely half bad at having had practice with Derek and Mark.

--

Alex sighed from inside the gallery. He wasn't about to let Addison shut him out of her life, and he wasn't about to let her feel ashamed of him either. He could tell, by her emotional stance when Meredith had caught them, that she was thinking in the back of her mind that the idea of the two of them together was a bad idea. If she wanted a fight, he was going to give her one. Alex wasn't known for backing out easily, and although that could be argued he wasn't about to let Addison go. He just had to figure out how to go about winning her over.

He watched with mild interest as Dr. Shepherd continued to pull Mr. Millbrook's tumor out, he even found himself yawning in the gallery where he and his other fellow interns sat.

"You're seriously yawning?" Izzie asked as she looked at him in disbelief. "This is intense, he almost crashed, twice." She rolled her eyes at him before turning her attention back onto the surgery happening just below them.

"Leave him alone, if it has nothing to do with vaginas then Alex has no reason to pay attention." Cristina replied as a smirk tugged at the corners of her mouth as the others laughed.

"Shutup Yang." Alex replied back to Cristina, who was sitting beside him.

"Leave him alone Cristina." Meredith said over her shoulder, and Alex couldn't help but be a little thankful that she knew. Out of all the interns to give him less crap, Meredith was probably the one, although she was a somewhat of a loose cannon when it came to keeping secrets.

Not backing down, Cristina suddenly straightened up and leaned over towards Meredith. "Okay, what do you know?" She asked meanwhile glancing at Alex suspiciously.

Alex merely snorted in reply as he crossed his arms.

"Nothing, I know nothing." Meredith said disbelievingly, leaving Alex suddenly worried that she was his confidant in the matter.

Cristina was about to press her further, that is, until a familiar voice yelling Alex's name interrupted her. "Dr. Karev?" Addison called a second time, although the first time was barely heard. She crossed her arms as she walked further into the gallery, finally giving Alex a glimpse as to who was calling his name, but he didn't need to see her to know exactly whose voice that was.

After seeing her tense demeanor, Alex immediately felt himself sit higher. "Yes, Dr. Montgomery?"

Cristina sat back and mocked a low, "Yes, Dr. Montgomery." in a high pitched voice. Alex replied to her remark by kneeing her leg hard as he stood up.

Addison cleared her throat before asking, "Were you or were you not supposed to give me a full recap of Laura's vitals?" Without giving him so much as a second to respond, she continued, "When I assign you to a case I expect you to give it your full attention. I mean, how many times do I have to remind you of that?"

Izzie, Meredith and even Cristina all shared awkward glances, and then looked back at Alex. Meredith however, was the only one who looked at both Addison and Alex and knew there was more than just professional tension flying throughout the room.

Alex couldn't believe that she was making a scene in front of his peers about something so miniscule. Not helping matters, he quickly said, "And did I or did I not say that I would check in as soon as your meeting with the Chief ended? And judging from my watch you've only been in his office for what? About fifteen minutes? So excuse me for not interrupting your meeting to inform you that her vitals are stable and that she's making a full recovery."

Izzie's eyes, along with every one else's in the room, widened. "Alex..." She whispered in shock at his angry reply. Meredith looked over at Addison and could see that she was doing everything in her power to keep her personal feelings out of their conversation.

Addison fought against her own emotions to appear in control, which she knew she wasn't. Gripping the door frame, she lowered her chart and said, "As far as I'm concerned, you're off of this case."

Slowly, he started to walk towards her, and she thought that for a second he was going to pass her by, but instead he stopped directly in front of her. "Fine." He spat out in her face before forcefully brushing past her.

Looking back at the other interns, she found a look of pity written on Meredith's and Izzie's faces, Cristina's face however, still looked like she didn't believe what had just happened. Addison muttered a silent, "Great." and then left the gallery, knowing that it'll take about five minutes before the gossip about the two of them to circulate.

--

It was a half an hour after her and Alex's so called 'fight' in the gallery when she heard a soft tap at her door. She half expected it to be Alex, she knew she had wanted it to be Alex. But, after saying, "Come in." found that it was none other than Meredith Grey.

"Ad-Dr. Montgomery." She corrected herself, and Addison couldn't help but chuckle a little at Meredith's obvious discomfort at being in front of her.

"Relax Meredith, you can call me Addison." She said, giving her a small smile, although it probably looked fake, given that she didn't at all feel like smiling.

Meredith seemed to look past that and said, rather awkwardly, "Right. Anyways, about what just happened, in the gallery and also about what I saw before, I just wanted to say-"

"Meredith." Addison said warily, cutting Meredith's sentence off. "You don't have to do this, I'd actually prefer it if you didn't."

"I know. I just, Alex ... he's Alex, and complicated. And 'dark and twisty'. I mean none of us really know all that much about him, other than the fact that he's Alex, and complicated and..." Meredith rambled, although Addison was in no way prepared to deal with Meredith's rambling, and didn't understand a word she said, other than _Alex _and

"Dark and what?" Addison asked, confused.

"Nevermind. All I'm saying is that none of us now all that much about him other than that he's complicated." Meredith finished, obviously aware that she so crossed the line, but it appeared that she seemed somewhat okay with that.

Addison cleared her throat and said, "Well, thank you Meredith, but I'm fully capable of making decisions about people all on my own. And while I appreciate you trying to be a friend to him, you don't have to explain anything on his behalf, because we aren't ... we aren't anything." Her face fell a little as her eyes wandered to the floor in front of her.

Addison could sense that Meredith was getting even more uncomfortable by the second so she asked, "Why are you coming to me with this? I mean we're not friends or anything."

"I know." She replied simply and Addison could have sworn she saw traces of a smile appearing.

Addison stared at her for a second before saying, "You feel guilty." She knew that Meredith knew what she was talking about, Derek, she felt guilty for stealing Derek away.

"I do." She said.

Addison watched her carefully before slowly standing up and walking over to her. "Don't be. He was gone before you came into the picture, I just refused to let go."

Meredith nodded, blinking back the few tears that were showing. "Why are you so nice?"

Addison laughed in spite of the situation. "Because I don't have any reason to be mean to you. It was his doing, you ... were merely an innocent bystander." She replied, believing everything she was telling Meredith. She didn't blame her for stealing Derek, although she didn't help by sleeping with him at Prom, nevertheless, she never blamed her. There were times when it seemed easier to blame Meredith for her unhappiness at stealing Derek, but she couldn't fight the truth, which was that he simply didn't want her.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry ... for everything." Meredith apologized sincerely.

"I know you are, that's why it makes it so hard to hate you." She said with a smile.

Meredith laughed and gave Addison one last look before turning around. She was about to walk out the door when Addison called out, "Meredith?" She turned and Addison continued, "Thank you ... for telling me about Alex."

Meredith nodded and then said, "He seems to really like you." before she walked out, closing the door behind her.

"I really like him too." Addison replied softly.


	11. Chapter 11

Thank you for the reviews! Yes, I love me my angst, so with that being said, here's another chapter for you kind folks!

**Chapter Eleven**

An hour later, Alex was still fuming from his and Addison's so called lover's quarrel, that having escalated from gossip central, the nurses station. For now, Alex had been intent on staying out of Addison's sight for the remainder of the day, which was somewhat easy while he was assigned to Burke. He tried to focus on the surgery at hand, but it was hard when his mind was still reeling from the way Addison had made a scene in front of his friends about something as small as giving her a recap on her patients a.s.a.p.

... Alex thought for a moment about how she had practically rushed into the room, guns blazing, ready to pick a fight with him. But why? Why would she _want_ to argue with him? 

A moment later, it came to him, she wanted an out, or out in general, which of those he wasn't entirely sure, or even sure he understood why. He didn't know what to do. For the first time in his life, he was in a situation where he actually wanted to confront someone on what they were scared of. In past relationships, when the going got tough, he got going, but now, he didn't want either of them to run. No, he was going to stick, and he wasn't about to let her wanting to run shy him away from what he wanted, her.

He quickly looked at his watch, _almost nine, _she was probably home, but he refused to let that stop him.

"Dr. Burke would it be alright if I leave?" He asked hesitantly, knowing that he was asking for a lot from the wrong person.

Burke looked up at him, a look of confusion in his eyes and said, in a somewhat bitter tone, "Well if there's somewhere more important you need to be Karev than in my OR, then I guess you're excused."

"Great." He breathed out and quickly maneuvered his way through the many nurses and was at the door, but before he had a chance to leave, Burke quickly said, "Karev, don't think you'll get another chance of scrubbing into one of my surgeries soon." Alex nodded, thinking that was a small price to pay for an opportunity to talk to Addison about whatever it was that was going on between them.

Scanning the hospital, he checked every place that he thought she might be, he even checked a couple of the on-call rooms, sensing that she might have retreated there after their fight.

His looking was interrupted when a confused Meredith called his name.

"Yeah?" He asked, somewhat out of breath.

After seeing his frazzled appearance, Meredith slowly began to smile. "You're looking for her aren't you?"

"Have you seen her anywhere?" He asked quickly, not at all uncomfortable talking about Addison with her.

She shook her head. "No, sorry. Good luck though."

"Thanks." He waved back to her before searching the next place he thought she'd be.

--

Addison found the bar less crowded than Joe's, and as she moved throughout it's small interior, she found that it was smellier than Joe's as well. _Oh well, _she sighed, figuring it was better than taking her chances of running into Alex at Joe's, and she really needed a drink. The one thing she was grateful for however, was the choice of music. She couldn't help but mouth the words of the familiar Foo Fighters song as it played softy in the background.

Lost in thought, she lazily ran her fingers up and down her cold beverage which sat semi-emptily in front of her. _Well,_ she thought to herself, _you pretty much succeeded in scaring Alex away. _She thought back to their argument in the gallery and she knew before she walked into the room that her intentions were to yell at him, embarrass him in front of his friends, do anything so that she could make him angry. After all, it was far easier to break up with someone when they were angry with you, although she didn't even know if they were really going out in the first place.

She was quickly brought out of her thoughts as someone said, "I never thought I'd see a familiar face in this bar. Not to mention yours." Addison recognized that voice, and as she turned around she even felt a little happy to see Finn standing behind her.

"Dr. Dandridge." She greeted with smile and realized that in the months of having not seen him, she was automatically aware of how much she missed seeing his face.

"Beautiful women who don't have pets staying with me often call me Finn." He replied with a smile of his own as he took a seat next to her.

"Right, Finn. I didn't think I'd see you here, or anywhere for that matter." She said, and a second later wished she hadn't.

"Right because anyone who gets dumped by Meredith Grey should cease to exist." He played off coolly.

She could have smacked herself in the head for saying that, and having not really picked up on his calm reply, she said quickly "I'm sorry, that's not what I meant, I-"

"Relax." He interrupted her. "It's alright. It's actually refreshing to see someone I know, or am acquainted with I should say. We haven't really had the pleasure of talking." He said, and as he did so leaned in the slightest bit, something which Addison necessarily didn't mind.

"I know, and I apologize for that. It's just Doc was mainly Derek's priority, I always felt weird because of..."

"Meredith? Yeah I sensed that." He finished for her and then took a sip of his beer, afterwards he asked, "So, speaking of them, how are they?" And then brought his beer back to his lips, and Addison could sense that he was still not comfortable talking about the two of them.

"Together." She replied simply, only because she wasn't comfortable talking about them either.

"Ooh. Ouch." He said, bringing the beer away from his lips. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. We're the victims here right? I mean you were with Meredith before she broke up with you to be with ... And it only took me finding a pair of black panties for me to realize it was over with Derek." She said briskly and finished by taking a swig of her beer.

Finn gave her a small smile, one she hoped wasn't meant to seem like he was pitying her. That thought went out the window however as he slowly raised his glass and said, "To him not realizing what he had while he had it."

She looked at him and a smile crept onto her face as she slowly raised her own beer. "The same goes for her not realizing what she had while she had it."

"Cheers to that." He smiled as they clanked their glasses together before both taking a drink to commemorate their speech.

Afterwards, Addison found that with her hand perched under her chin, she was watching Finn Dandridge. Not only that, but his eyes were staring equally into hers. She felt oddly comfortable in the company of the Vet and she even felt relaxed by the fact that he was giving her the same longing stare that she knew she was giving him.

"Do you want to get out of here?" He asked suddenly, breaking their moment of silence.

"I'm sorry?" She asked, although she heard the question loud and clear in the noisy bar.

"Do you want to, you know, go back to my place or something? And I'm not asking in a sexual way. I just, I can't stand all the men looking at you and I would very much like to have you all to myself." He said with a smile, and Addison could have sworn that that was the most romantic thing she's heard.

Sitting up straighter she said, "You know what? I'd like that."

--

"So how does a Vet come by a place like this?" Addison asked, not in a way of insulting his career, but in a flirty way which she hoped he would pick up on.

"I have my ways." He replied confidently as he took out his keys and unlocked the door.

Once they were inside, Addison got the strange feeling that she should leave, not only because it was most likely the same steps that Meredith had once taken before, but something else that was creeping into the back of her mind, Alex. She liked him a lot, and she knew that he liked her, but she couldn't fight the connection she was having with Finn. If anything, she wanted to at least see where the night went.

After a moment, she asked, "What's all that?" Referring to the eggs and bowls he had pulled out in the seconds that it took her to take off her coat. Afterwards, she caught him staring once again at her and the simple red dress she had chosen to wear for the evening.

After clearing his throat he said, "Well you can't really make omelets without eggs, and ..." He then continued to pull something out of the fridge, "cheese." he finished as he took out a large bar of cheese and placed it gently next to the eggs.

"You're making me an omelet?" She asked. She was flattered that he had taken it upon himself to make her something, she was even a little surprised that from the moment she saw him in the bar, there was no moment of uncertainty or discomfort. But as much at ease she felt with Finn, she still couldn't help but feel guilty in his presence, like she was somehow cheating on Alex.

"Actually," Finn said, once again bringing her out of her thoughts, "I'm making me an omelet, but you're welcome to join me if you'd like." He said with a grin.

"Well, with an invitation like that, how can I refuse?" She said, playing along with him.

He laughed and then said, "Good, because you haven't had a good omelet until you've had mine." She almost laughed out loud from the dirty innuendo that ran through her mind.

"Oh really? And how do you know that mine aren't equally as great?" She asked, as she tried her hardest to keep the conversation easy and clean.

"Well then you're just going to have to show me your skills in the kitchen sometime." He said, and for a second she thought that he had caught onto her insinuation.

"Oh wait, we're missing a key ingredient." He said as he disappeared behind the island in his kitchen and when he reappeared, he was carrying a bottle of red wine. "A bottle of Castle Rock, Pinot Noir. I'm not too big on the tradition of orange juice when you're eating breakfast for dinner, and this wine happens to go very well with my omelets."

"Oh so you've cooked this dinner for someone before me? Is that supposed to make me jealous?" _Damn_, she thought, _score another one for saying the wrong thing_. She was sure that he'd think she was implying that he cooked this very meal for Meredith Grey.

"Actually, as much as it would please me to see you jealous, no, I haven't. I just happen to know because on my many nights alone, I often indulge myself on a little wine from time to time." Once again, he surprised her by playing it off coolly.

"While cooking your famous omelets of course." She supplied with a seductive grin.

"Oh, well of course." He smiled with her, and suddenly she realized that they were dangerously close to each other, something she didn't know when happened. With her back pressed up against the counter of the island, she knew that she didn't have anywhere to go, and that the decision of what was going to happen next was in the hands of Finn, as said hands were on either sides of her, resting on top of the counter, and nearly trapping her in place.

--

Okay, so I'm evil, I get it. Mwaha. Well I have a plan for this ... I think. Although I must confess, I found their conversation the most fun and easy to write than any of the others I've written ... is that bad? Hehe. Well you guys be the judge. Hope you liked it anyways. Oh yeah and I wasn't entirely sure if Finn lived above his office, so I've given him a seperate place to live. One of the many pleasures of writing your own story.


	12. Chapter 12

Alright, I wrote this chapter in a about twenty minutes, so forgive me if it's horribley short and undescriptive. But I had to get Addison out of Finn's ... Apperantly you guys don't want her with anyone else ... :P hehe So anyways, hope you like it.

------------------------------

**Chapter Twelve**

At ten o'clock, Alex had ended his search and went over to a familiar place, Joe's Bar. Which is exactly where he sat, clutching his eighth shot, thinking whether or not he should take the plunge and let the liquid run its course down his throat. Finally, after saying _screw it_, he downed the shot, slamming the glass against the table as soon as he was finished.

"You didn't find her?" Meredith asked from beside him, and Alex couldn't help but think that it was becoming somewhat of a ritual for her to find him in the opportune moments in which he was feeling like shit.

"Nope." He said bitterly as he waved over to Joe. "Another one of these please."

Joe gave Meredith a disapproving look before saying, "Don't you think you've had enough man?"

"Nah, not yet." He replied as he lifted one of his shot glasses and looked through it. By this, Meredith could tell that Alex was definitely a little, if not entirely, drunk.

"Alright, but she's driving you home tonight." Joe said sadly as he poured Alex another shot and then went about helping the other customers in the bar.

"Alex." Meredith called out sadly.

"What?" He replied, a small hint of anger in his voice.

"Why are you here? I mean, why aren't you … did you try calling her?" She asked, and although she knew it was a stupid question, she wanted Alex to be anywhere but there trying to drown his sorrows. In truth, she was actually rooting for the two of them to be together. Addison deserved someone decent, and to her, and probably only her, Alex was a decent person.

Alex chuckled, bringing her out of her thoughts. "I only called about six times. She won't pick up her cell, she's not at her hotel … and well she's definitely not at work. I practically tore that place apart looking for her." He said in a low voice.

"Maybe she didn't want you to find her, you ever think of that?" A voice asked, a voice which sent Alex over the edge.

--

Addison's throat suddenly became increasingly dry, she didn't know if the wine was to blame, or the fact that Finn was merely inches away from her, staring directly into her eyes. "I …" She started, but her voice wouldn't allow her to continue.

Finn nodded, fully understanding her sudden discomfort. "You know, if I was _that_ guy, this would have been the perfect opportunity to kiss you. But that's not what you would have wanted? … Isn't it?"

Her eyes traveled in front of her and she seemed to be avoiding his gaze. "No … I'm sorry."

Finn held up his hands in defense. "Hey, don't be. It's perfectly understandable. You don't seem like that type of woman anyways."

Addison gave a soft laugh in disagreement. "Yeah…" Clearly Finn wasn't aware of her history with men, something she was a little grateful for. After clearing her throat, she said, "I think … I think I should go."

"What?"

She gently touched his arm and said, "You're a great guy … but I can't help get the feeling that I shouldn't be here, like I'm somehow cheating."

He gave a low chuckle and said, "I don't think Derek will mind."

"No." She said with a shake of her head, "There's someone else, someone I've been avoiding, and I think I should be with him right now. I'm sorry."

She gave him one last smile before turning around and walking over to the front door. "Just so you know," He said, which caused her to stop for a moment, "The offer is always on the table for you to try my omelets."

She smiled. "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."

--

Meredith stood up, and kept herself cleverly placed between Alex and Mark. "Mark, don't." She warned.

"Don't what? We're just talking." Mark replied and flashed her one of his charming smiles.

Alex downed his last shot before he himself stood up, pushing against Meredith so that she could step back. "Actually, you were just leaving."

"Whoa, easy there tiger. Wouldn't want to get kicked out of the program would you?" He asked, and Meredith could have sworn that he was egging him on.

"Alex, don't, it's not worth it." She said as she tried to push him back into his seat.

Alex glared at him before agreeing. "You're right, he's not worth it." Meredith sighed and then stepped back, thinking the worst was over. "Apparently Addison thought so too." Alex finished as he gave him a victorious grin.

Mark's face fell at the comment and suddenly Meredith saw his fist flying at Alex's face.

--

Addison was thankful that she drove her own car to Finn's place, it made for an easier escape. Once she was in her car, she checked her cell phone and saw that she had a new message. She called her voicemail and was pleased to hear Alex's voice ring through the other end. "Addison, it's me. Look, I don't know what happened back there. I'm guessing that things didn't go as planned in the Chief's office, so I'm willing to look past you yelling at me and ask you to come over to Joe's with me tonight. I'll be waiting, so if you want to talk, or yell again, whatever, I'll be there." She smiled as she closed her cell phone and started her car, after making a gentle U-turn, she put the car in drive and headed for Joe's.

--

"You son of a-" Mark yelled before taking another swing at Alex. Alex though, was ready for the second blow so he found it a little easier to dodge than the first, his being drunk however, swayed his motions and Mark's fist collided with the side of his face.

Alex tasted blood. He gently licked his lip and realized that the first hit he took cut his lip open. He quickly wiped it off and waited for the third attack.

"Hey! Break it up you two." Joe yelled as his attention was drawn from the others in the bar to the fight that was taking place. Meredith merely stood by, unable to think of what to do to put an end to the fight.

Alex ignored Joe's request and drew up the courage to push Mark away from him, but what he didn't know was that Addison was standing just behind Mark.


End file.
